After a 450 mile battle with riders, dust, and heat, the Quad75Dezert team finished the 2012 Baja 500 in second place, just two and half minutes behind the 5a Yamaha team. Several competitors suffered heat stroke during this event, but the top finishers pushed through to come out on the podium.

Jorie Williams would start the race on the number 3a quad, leaving 2nd off the line behind Josh Frederick on the 2a quad. Williams passed Frederick within the first 40 miles and came into the team’s first pit leading the race. Mechanic Kenny Sanford then got on the quad and would take it to approximately race mile 100. During his 60 miles, Sanford would be overtaken by Frederick, but held on to second place as the 5a team neared. Williams then remounted the quad to take it over the Summit and into Borrego where rider Jamie Kirkpatrick would take over. Frederick’s team suffered some bad luck in the lakebed after the Summit, and would take the remainder of the day to fix their quad and get it to the finish. Baja veteran Mike Cafro’s team also suffered problems that put their quad out of the race. Mexico’s treacherous heat sickened several riders, some of them even needing medical attention, but most teams pushed on despite dangerous conditions.

Coming off of the lakebed, Williams was again in front of the field. In Borrego the Quad75Dezert team did a longer pit stop, changing tires, and noticed the pivot bolt, while safety-wired to the bike, was loose. Taking an extra few seconds to tighten the bolt gave enough time for the 5a quad to take the lead as Jamie Kirkpatrick took over the 3a quad. Brandon Brown and Richie Brown took the next three legs of the race, the Cross, the Coast, and Uruapan to the finish, but were only able to make up a few minutes. Official results put Quad75Dezert two and half minutes behind the 5a team on adjusted time, but the team had no penalties. “We raced probably the hardest we ever have, and this race was one of the closest. It’s great to see more competitors down there and it’s definitely more exciting when the racing is that tight all day,” Brandon Brown said, “Anything can happen in Mexico, and I’m just proud of our riders and support crew. We had a good race and now we’re going to plan to have the best race for the Baja 1000 in November.”

Quad75Dezert finished 2nd in Class 25 and now sits 3rd in season points. After recovering from this race, the team will be headed to compete in the BITD Vegas to Reno race in August, and then set their sights on this year’s Baja 1000. Visit Quad75.com or Facebook.com/Quad75Dezert for information, photos, videos and more!